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"Buck Rogers"
TV Series (1950-51)
 Aired
Saturdays on ABC from 6:00-6:30
P.M. - EST
April 15, 1950 - January 30, 1951
Following on the heels of Dumont's Captain
Video and His Video Rangers (1949-55), this was the first attempt to bring the 1930s
space hero to TV. Buck Rogers seemed ill at ease on live television, where his
adventures were confined to a few small sets in a small studio. By comparison, his movie
serials seemed like Hollywood extravaganzas.
Buck's history was recounted verbally in
the first episode--an ordinary American who wakes up to find himself in the year 2430. Headquartered in a secret science lab in a cave behind Niagara Falls (the city of Niagara
was now the capital of the world), Buck battles intergalactic troublemakers.
 Kem Dibbs, who later appeared in the
science fiction television series, Men Into Space (1959-60), played Buck with a
suitable swashbuckling flair. He was later replaced by Robert Pastene.
Not much is known about this early television series, and certain reputable
sources have stated that there are no surviving kinescopes. But there have been
persistent rumors that some kinescopes may exist. The two photos pictured on
this page are from
an issue of TV Forecast cover dated May 20th, 1950, and may be the only
photos in existence. The John F. Dille company marketed a number of items at
the time of the series, but the only one that may be a definite tie-in is the
Sylvania Premium that was given away in TV stores around the time the series was
being run.
With all this said, Buck Rogers' first television incarnation is almost totally forgotten
about today.
Credits
Kem Dibbs and Robert Pastene
as Buck Rogers
Lou Prentis as Lieutenant Wilma Deering
Harry Sothern as Dr. Huer
Harry Kingston as Black Barney
Sanford Bickard as Killer Kane
Directed by Babette Henry
Produced by Joe Cates and Babette Henry
Written by Gene Wyckoff
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